Laugh and Laugh Often: Hopfgarten

Welcome everyone! I’m really excited to share one of the BEST travel experiences I had when I was visited Hopfgarten, Austria. I was on a 18-Day Contiki Tour: Road to Athens. On Day 5, we visited Munich, Germany and went on a bike tour where I almost drowned. How do you almost drown on a bike tour you ask? Trust me I need a WHOLE post to walk you through that experience-COMING SOON (Shout out to the MVP Katrina B.!). Moving on!

Next we were off to Austria. I was mentally beating myself up about being so stupid and couldn’t get the embarrassment of having to be rescued out of my mind. Upon arriving to Hopfgarten, we checked into our guest house, Haus Lukas. I can’t rave enough about this picturesque town and guesthouse. I mean really! look at these pictures!!

I felt like a theatrical musical number with choreography and the whole bit was bound to happen at any moment.

Haus Lukas: Hopfgarten, Austria

Haus Lukas was an amazing guesthouse with beautiful views from almost every room. Typically, I try not to eat any meals at my hotel because finding great places to eat in a new city is one of my favorite things to do. However, the food here was TOO good to pass up and Schnappy Hour was the icing on the cake. The rooms were spacious and very clean. There were even laundry facilities available (this was several years ago, not sure if this is still available). I didn’t take advantage of them but my roommate loaded her dirty items into the provided bag and they returned them clean the next day. Personally, I have a thing about strangers touching my dirty clothes but to each their own *shrug*. We were also lucky enough to get a room with a balcony. All in all we loved this guest house. If you plan on making a trip to Austria and aren’t far from Hopfgarten, I highly recommend Haus Lukas.

Paragliding in the Austrian Tyrol

Next on the list of excursions was paragliding in the Austrian Tyrol. I already signed up and paid for all of the optional excursions because I wanted to get the full experience in each location. But in the back of my mind, I was thinking “Seriously? You’re going to run off a cliff after almost drowning?”

As luck would have it, I made it out alive and better than before. It was the most amazing feeling I’ve ever felt. I thought that I would feel my stomach drop, kind of like when you go down on a roller coaster. But instead, it felt like I was sitting on a cloud just roaming the clear skies. And boy was it a BEAUTIFUL CLEAR DAY. At one point, he even let me take over navigation, which was pretty cool and terrifying.

BEST EXPERIENCE EVER!

The ride up until now was a smooth, floating like experience. Then, the Austrian dude strapped to my back shouted over the wind “Do you like roller coasters?”. I yelled back “Of course, who doesn’t?!”. That statement was like a light switch for him. I looked back over my shoulder and the look he gave me was one of “Hold my beer and watch this.” He told me you’re going to want to record this.

As you can see from the video, he went crazy twisting us around and around. Almost flipping us upside down. (WARNING: You might get dizzy from all the motion) I hadn’t laughed that hard in YEARS. Listening to myself on this video and love how carefree I remember feeling. It truly felt like being on top of the world with the video footage to prove it. I’m going to keep this post light but on the rough days I listen to this and try to remember that it will get better.

My reason to travel

THIS is why I love travel, the ability to go and do things you haven’t experienced before. Of course I could find someplace to paraglide in New Jersey (my home state) and it would be just as fun. However, I pushed myself outside my comfort zone even after facing a near-death experience with only on a bus full of strangers for comfort. THOUGH, I did skip the white-water rafting excursion the next day when I felt a MEAN anxiety attack coming on. But HEY you win some and lose some.

What is one of your favorite travel experiences? I would love to hear about it and maybe even sign up myself!

Disclosure: There are affiliate links in this post. Booking your stay through these links will be of no charge to you but I may receive a commission.

Meet Sylvia

I’m a full-time Scientist and dog-mom. I love all things organization (yay for spreadsheets!), travel, and diy. I am always on the hunt for a bargain and want to share my experiences and tips. I hope to inspire people to try new things without blowing their budget.